The Films of Woody Allen is the first full-length critical study to analyze in depth the films that make Allen a serious filmmaker and artist. Sam Girgus argues that Allen is on the cutting edge of contemporary critical and cultural consciousness, challenging our notions of authorship, narrative, perspective, character, theme, ideology, gender and sexuality. A student and admirer of the classic Hollywood cinema, Allen combines this appreciation for American directors with a developed sensitivity to experimental European directors such as Fellini, De Sica, and Bergman. Probably the most widely recognized aspect of Allen's works is his uncanny integration of the comedic and the serious in visually inventive films that experiment with narrative, plot, and psychology.

Beginning with Play it Again, Sam, the films of Woody Allen offer a perceptive vision of contemporary life and the human condition. The increasing complexity of his works as a director and writer over two decades has paralleled an equally complex process of intellectual and moral maturity. Allen's films reveal a decentered world of displaced and dislocated characters who question their ability to find meaning in their lives. Allen's achievement as an artist has been to develop a style of technical and artistic complexity to sustain his vision.

Résumé :

The Films of Woody Allen is the first full-length critical study to analyze in depth the films that make Allen a serious filmmaker and artist. Sam Girgus argues that Allen is on the cutting edge of contemporary critical and cultural consciousness, challenging our notions of authorship, narrative, perspective, character, theme, ideology, gender and sexuality. A student and admirer of the classic Hollywood cinema, Allen combines this appreciation for American directors with a developed sensitivity to experimental European directors such as Fellini, De Sica, and Bergman. Probably the most widely recognized aspect of Allen's works is his uncanny integration of the comedic and the serious in visually inventive films that experiment with narrative, plot, and psychology.

Beginning with Play it Again, Sam, the films of Woody Allen offer a perceptive vision of contemporary life and the human condition. The increasing complexity of his works as a director and writer over two decades has paralleled an equally complex process of intellectual and moral maturity. Allen's films reveal a decentered world of displaced and dislocated characters who question their ability to find meaning in their lives. Allen's achievement as an artist has been to develop a style of technical and artistic complexity to sustain his vision.

"The Films of Woody Allen is the first full-length critical study to analyze in depth the films that make Allen a serious filmmaker and artist. Sam Girgus argues that Allen is on the cutting edge of contemporary critical and cultural consciousness, challenging our notions of authorship, narrative, perspective, character, theme, ideology, gender and sexuality. A student and admirer of the classic Hollywood cinema, Allen combines this appreciation for American directors with a developed sensitivity to experimental European directors such as Fellini, De Sica, and Bergman. Probably the most widely recognized aspect of Allen's works is his uncanny integration of the comedic and the serious in visually inventive films that experiment with narrative, plot, and psychology."@en

"Beginning with Play it Again, Sam, the films of Woody Allen offer a perceptive vision of contemporary life and the human condition. The increasing complexity of his works as a director and writer over two decades has paralleled an equally complex process of intellectual and moral maturity. Allen's films reveal a decentered world of displaced and dislocated characters who question their ability to find meaning in their lives. Allen's achievement as an artist has been to develop a style of technical and artistic complexity to sustain his vision."@en